Thompson Loses Aide To Securities Firm

June 18, 1987|By Merrill Goozner and John McCarron.

John E. Glennon has become the latest Thompson administration official to be enticed by the securities business.

Glennon, who served for the last two years as Gov. James Thompson`s assistant for economic affairs, will join the Chicago office of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc., a unit of American Express Co., on July 1 to start a public finance department.

Previous Thompson administration officials who moved into major underwriting firms include Peter B. Fox, the former director of the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs and now managing director of public finance at Bear, Stearns & Co., and Gayle M. Franzen, former head of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and now director of public finance at L.F. Rothschild & Co.

Glennon, 35, served as general counsel to the Illinois Housing Development Authority for three years before becoming Thompson`s economic affairs assistant.

He played a key role in creating the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which will be coming to market with a $135 million bond issue to build a White Sox stadium sometime after the authority`s start-up July 1.

Glennon also authored the Quad Cities Regional Development Authority legislation, whose $100 million in bonding capacity is expected to be approved by the General Assembly soon.

He also was Thompson`s point man in negotiations over the proposed stadium for the Chicago Bears and on bringing a Walt Disney Co. theme park to Chicago. An announcement on the latter project is expected soon.

Glennon is expected to reactivate Shearson`s presence in Illinois municipal underwriting, which has been dormant since 1984 when Shearson and Lehman Brothers merged.

``We`ve serviced Chicago and Illinois from New York,`` said Robert M. Brown III, Shearson`s managing director of public finance for 13 Midwestern states. ``With the significant presence American Express has in Chicago and the large Shearson brokerage, we felt we ought to build on that in the public finance arena.``

Competitors noted that Glennon`s ties to the Thompson administration and his working knowledge of several continuing city projects should get the firm`s department off to a good start.

``It`s going to make us work harder,`` said Bear Stearns` Fox, another former Thompson administration official. ``Most of the investment banking houses have contacts in state, county and municipal governments, and opening a Chicago office will allow them to become more active here.``